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Muscle Building and BodybuildingTopics related to muscle building, bodybuilding, including training and fullbody workouts. If you are looking for great advice on gaining muscle this forum is for you.

Faz hit the nail on the head about addressing nagging injuries. I would highly recommend checking out Donnie Thompsons YouTube channel. There's a ton of stuff on prehab with bands. As for the lax ball just sit on the floor with the ball between your glutes and the floor and roll your glutes over the ball using your body weight and focus on massaging out the spots that hurt the most.

I've decided this is going to be my last cycle of 5/3/1. There have been far to many misses occurring lately. One solution would be to reset everything back to 90% of my current working max. I'm not willing to do that. It is what it is.
Mentally I'm tired of every workout lifting max effort. Physically, I have become inconsistent. I know when I'm burnt out on a routine. And right now, I am burnt.
At 9 months in, I can proudly say I have shown that I am disciplined enough to make a commitment to a program.

So, next week will be the last week. And I will be doing something else for a 2 or 3 months. I am hoping to maybe get some suggestions and guidance from you guys as I go about picking a new routine.

I am not exactly sure what I want yet, but here are some of my thoughts:
-I do not want to be working out with a heavy, max effort load every session. I need some modulation here.
- I am currently eating in a manner to cut fat. So with that in mind I want a routine that will allow me to maintain my current muscle and strength. It would be nice to increase muscle and strength, but if I am going to be realistic, I am just aiming to maintain the best I can.
-3 or 4 days a week. Either one would work.
-With my current low back issues, I will not be deadlifting. At least for the first month or so.
-Some potential options are H/L/M, Upper/lower, A/B, GVT maybe?

That's what I have for now. Suggestions are appreciated. I will be using this thread as I narrow down the options. Thanks.

I would like to clarify that my reoccurring lower back issues are not a primary factor in my desire to start a new routine. I am not sure if I unintentionally gave this impression in the post above or if conversation just went that way.
Not that I'm not grateful for the advice given thus far, because I am.

__________________ Zdravko Veselin Gaeta

I am not a powerlifter nor am I a bodybuilder. I just want to be big and strong.

Quote:

[Today 05:50 PM] BendtheBar: Write that quote down
[Today 05:50 PM] BendtheBar: If I am going to be a bro, I am going to be the best

Josh, my 5/3/1 experience mirrors yours. Starting off, it was great and the gains came steady. . .

It's hard to make gains on both the squat and the deads, it's also hard to make gains on both the bench and the press, and all at the same time. My squat and press went up nicely while my bench and deads didn't do quite as well.

The first cycle went great and I gained some good ground. The second cycle was also good, but not as good as the first. Every cycle after that had diminished returns until you finally just stall-out. I think it just beats on you after a while and a change is needed. After all, Wendler [himself] keeps changing things, why shouldn't we?

I'm not running-down the 5/3/1 method, I think most of the top methods are effective, they just aren't effective forever.

Maybe I should try a different approach to my question.
I am currently on a low carbohydrate diet with the aim of losing weight. What is a good routine to help me maintain muscle and strength, if not gain?
Also, I am interested in a routine that does not involve chasing numbers on a spreadsheet.
Any suggestions?

__________________ Zdravko Veselin Gaeta

I am not a powerlifter nor am I a bodybuilder. I just want to be big and strong.

Quote:

[Today 05:50 PM] BendtheBar: Write that quote down
[Today 05:50 PM] BendtheBar: If I am going to be a bro, I am going to be the best